p42thedowneaster wrote:I think folks are overestimating the likely relief CR will have on I95 I93, and RT3,. I just don't see a significant number of people leaving their cars behind to go to MA. Its a nice option to have if you're going to Boston....in fact its kind if nice if you're going to Providence too. The difference between RI CR and NH CR is that its not needed or wanted for destinations in NH. It would cause you more trouble and probably more money to take the train to NH than it would help.
If the state was really excited about CR we would have built welcome centers at every Downeaster station with a certain local chain's bar and grill with an adjoining state liquor store like we do on our highways.
Well, don't forget...Route 3 is not an New Hampshire advocacy. Nor are either of the 2 extension stops south of downtown Nashua. That was a native Massachusetts priority they were looking at pursuing as de-coupled from hand-in-hand NH cooperation as possible, for the following reasons:
1) The Lowell Line does not have a layover yard, with all shift-change trains needing to deadhead or run as revenue extras to/from BET. It's the only commuter rail line on the system other than Stoughton (which is only 8.5 miles from the nearest layover at Readville) which has no layover. And that's because the old layover at Bleachery freight yard is unsuitable for reactivation due to the number of very busy freight tracks that have to be fouled to get between Lowell Station and the layover. So with the NH Main operating seriously under-capacity, service increases to Lowell alone were dependent on finding new--and more spacious--environs for a layover.
2) Lowell Station is crowded and getting moreso by the day, so the N. Chelmsford/Vinal Sq. stop and Tyngsboro/Route 3 were going to be needed someday as load-distributors. Especially with the pre-existing LRTA buses being able to scoop up from large areas of Chelmsford, Dracut, and Tyngsboro with easier trips than they'd have to Lowell Station. There is a pre-existing transit skeleton to build off of through the region, and the combo of the extension stops and increased bus service would've brought bigger immediate relief and walk-up patronage than your typically isolated suburban extension stop.
3) It's in
MassDOT's purview to divert as many NH plates off 3 at the border to make the backups between Lowell Connector and Route 128 ever so slightly less painful and more resilient to growth. After all, they just spent a kajillion dollars less than a dozen years ago widening the highway, and it's already running over-capacity. They are not going back and doing another set of widening out there. 6 lanes is as big as it's ever going to get.
When Rich Davey took over as MBTA GM he stated pretty emphatically at one of his meet-and-greet Q&A's with the public that if he could choose one commuter rail extension to pursue with gusto financial constraints be-damned (and, mind you...he couldn't, because Gov. Patrick was over the moon with his fever dreams of South Coast Rail)...this would be it. And hence, the "Spit Brook Rd. era". Pan Am had finally turned a leaf and become passenger-receptive, with negotiations already under way for trackage rights to Concord to be bundled in as one of the conditions for those Green Line Extension/Northpoint-related land swaps around BET. So Spit Brook Rd. and that blighted industrial lot behind Old Navy that was to be the layover yard site were mostly an MBTA/PAR joint to get the extension built--and satisfy the above 3 goals--with as little NH participation as possible, and as little NIMBY potential as possible. Because at this point Nashua wasn't keen on downtown. And the Mall was hostile to the parking encroachment on the Tyngsboro side of the border.
Basically, the big box stores and fast food restaurants would've been ecstatic at the business if they had guarantees against parking encroachment, and it would've required little more than sign-off from NH. Layover would've been a T expense, the < 1 mile of NH track work would've been a PAR expense laundered by the T, and station construction costs would've been sought by Fed grants. The whole thing was designed to be accomplishable without NH needing to lift a finger. Obviously, things have changed now. Nashua's gone gung-ho about downtown, the layover takes a derelict slice of the freight yard, and the Mall has surprised everyone by putting out feelers so they may be able to get the best of both worlds with the Exit 36/Tyngsboro site at the Mall.
So...take it into account. Nashua decided independently that downtown commuter rail matters. But MassDOT has never wavered at this being a primarily in-district project primarily designed for pan-Lowell Line and pan-Route 3 corridor benefit. It was always of narrow-ish benefit to direct NH-Boston commutes, with that being more of a Capital Corridor thingy still very far from being decided.